Fire-door.



W. B. GERVAIS I. M. GILMOIIB.

PIRE DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 17, 191s.

1,087,577.. Patented Feb. I?, 1914.v

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W. B. GERVAIS O M.l GILMORE.

A FIRE DOOR.

. APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 17, 191s. 1,087,577. Patented Feb. 1'?, 1914. l

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Xg c 5 I Q C C fig@ y j f 5 A a o G J Wy, xg f j@ im@ '"'n 22 E /7 /6 g233 @ji 7 20 STW WAINWRIGHT B. GERVAIS AND IvIILIARD GIIilvIOR-E, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIG-NORS T0 VARIETY MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FIRE-DOOR.

Original application led September 9, 1912, Serial No. 719,343. Divided and this application iiled March Serial No. 754,760.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, WArNwRiGi-IT B. GERVAIS and MILLARD GILMORE, citizens of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in F ire-Doors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates particularly to necessary movement of the door-sections will be permitted under varying conditions, and the lower door-section especially will be securely fastened in its elevated position, that is when the door-sections are closed.

The present application constitutes a division of our application No. 719,343, filed September 9, 1912. i

The invention is illustrated in the preferred embodiment in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents an inner broken elevational view'of the wall of an elevatorshaft having a door-opening closed by a firedoor constructed in accordance with our improvements; Fig. 2, a view of the upper door-section employed; Fig. 3, a view of the lower door-section employed; Fig. 4, a broken sectional view taken as indicated at line 4 of Fig. 1, showing a portion of the latch-device employed; Fig. 5, a broken sectional view taken as indicated at line 5 of Fig. 1, this view showing one of the lateral bearings of the door-section; Fig. 6, a broken perspective view of one of the latchbars employed; Fig. 7, a perspective view of one of the safety-stops or supports with which the lower door-section is equipped; and Fig. 8, a perspective view of a co-acting stop with which the door-guide is equipped.

In the construction illustrated, A represents the wall of an elevator-shaft provided with a door-opening A (Fig. 4) B, B, vertical guides connected with the inner surface of the wall A and extending along the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 17, 1914.

lateral margins of the door-opening; C, C', lower and upper door-sections, respectively, movable in the guides B, B, said lower and upper door-sections being joined by connections C2, whereby said sect-ions serve to counterbalance each other in that well understood manner; and D, latching or locking mechanism connected with the lower door-section.

The wall construction A may be of any approved type. Each of the guides B, B preferably comprises a wall-plate 1 applied to the inner face of the wall; an angle-bar 2 secured to the bar 1; and an angle-bar 3 secured to the outstanding iiange of the angle-bar 2, the parts being so arranged as to afford a guide-groove 4 for the lateral flanges 5 of the door-sections. The lateral flanges 5 of the door-sections are preferably provided by applying angle-bars 5a to the outstanding flanges of the lateral marginal angle-bars 6 with which the bodies of the door-sections are equipped. y(Each flange 5 is cut or split at its upper and lower ends and the metal is bent outwardly to form a tongue or bearing 5b which is adapte-d to co-act with the wall 7 of the groove 4. Thus, there is provided a tongue or member 5b at each corner of each door-section. These members are adapted to prevent racking of the door-section in operation. Each vertically severed member b is separated from the body of the flange of which it forms a part by a space 5c, so that in case of undue expansion of the door, the members will yield, thus preventing the door from binding in its guides. It is preferred to equip the guildes B, B with studs or stumps 8, which are adapted to limit the downward movement of the door-section C.

The flanges 5 of the upper door-section are recessed or cut away slightly at their lower ends to accommodate the sto-ps and adord shoulders adapted to rest upon said stops. The latch mechanism D preferably comprises a pair of latch-bars 9 whose inner ends are connected by pivots 10 with a centrally-located disk 11 which is connected,

B, B are equipped; and stops 16 with which the lateral edges of the lower doorsection are equipped at their upper portions. rlhe stops 16 are normally inoperative, but are adapted to engage the stops in case of undue expansion of the door, as in the event of fire. The stops 16 are secured to the outstanding anges of the angle-bars 5, being disposed near the upper corners of the lower door-section; and said stops 16 and the outstanding flanges of the anglebars 5a and 6 are provided with perforations or slots 17 through which the upper ends of the latch-bars 9 extend, said perforations thus serving as guides for the latch-bars. The latch-bars are provided at their upper ends with reinforcing members 18. r1`he ends of the latch-bars are preferably beveled upwardly, as indicated at 19, to enable them to readily pass the stops 15, which are beveled, as indicated at 15a. The stops 16 are provided on their outer sides with projections 20 which have bevels 21 and 22 at their lower and upper ends, respectively, the purpose of the bevel being to enable the stops 16 to readily pass the stops 15 in the operation of the closing and opening of door, even though the door should be racked somewhat from its proper position. In the event of undue expansion of the door, however, the projections 2O will overlie the stops 15, thus insuring the lower door-section against dropping, regardless of the latch-mechanism D. 1t is to be noted, further, that in the normal condition of the door the member 16 is disposed very close to the stop 15, so that there is only a slight space 23 (Fig. 4) to be bridged by the latch-bar. The purpose of this arrangement is to avoid the danger of the latch-bar bending under the weight of the door-section. 1n other words, the arrangement is such as to place a shearing aotion upon the latch-bars rather than to give opportunity for bending movement. This insures greater safety to the door and up till the time that the stop 16 reliably engages the stop 15, owing to the expansion of the door.

The drawings illustrate a latch-member 24: carried by the lower central portion of the upper door-section and adapted to lockingly engage a flange 25 at the upper margin of the lower door-section. This latchmeniber 2&1 is adapted to be released by a cam 26 carried by one of the latch-bars 9. rlFhis is mentioned by way of explanation, as this centrally latched device forms no part of the invention sought to be secured in the present application. The counterbalancing connections C2 include chains 27 which pass over rollers 28 carried by guides B, B.

'lhe foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding, and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom.

What we regard as new and desire t-o secure by Letters Patent is 1. 1n a door of the character set forth, the combination of a pair of guides equipped with stops, upper and lower metallic doorsections movable in said guides, stops car 1ied by the upper portions of the lateral edges of the lower door-section and disposed normally above and out of engagement with but closely adjacent said first-named stops, and a latch device adapted to support the low-er door-section in the normal condition of the door.

2. 1n a door of the character set forth, the combination of a pair of guides, upper and lower metallic door-sections movable in said guides and connected together to counterbalance each other, stops carried by said guides, normally inoperative stops above and adjacent thereto and carried by the lower door-section, and latch-bars carried by the lower door-section and extending through said second-named stops and engaging said first-named stops.

3. In a. door of the character set forth, the combination of a pair of guides, upper and lower metallic door-sections movable therein and connected together to counterbalance eachother, stops carried by said guides, normally inoperative stops carried by the lower door-section and disposed above said firstnamed stops and having projections provided with beveled upper and lower surfaces, said last-named stops having slots. therethrough, and latch-members carried by the lower door-section and extending through said slots and normally engaging said firstnamed stops when the door is in closed position.

l. In a door of the character set forth, the combination of a pair of guides equipped with stops, upper and lower metallic doorsections movable in said guides, members carried by the upper portions of the lateral edges of the lower door-section and disposed normally close to said stops, said members having perforations therethrough and latchmembers extending through said perforations and coacting with said stops to support the lower door-section in its closed position, said second named stops adapted to engage said first-named stops upon expansion of the lower door-section.

5. In a door of the character set forth, the combination of a pair of guides provided with grooves, upper and lower door-sections movable in said guides, the lower door-section being metallic and having its lateral margins equipped with angle-bars having outstanding flanges and equipped also with angle-bars carried by said outstanding flanges and engaging said grooves, stops carried by said guides, stops carried by said last-named angle-bars and disposed adjacent said first-named stops, said angle-bars and said members having slots therethrough, and latch-members extending through said slots and co-acting with said stops and serving to support the lower door-section in its closed posit-ion, said stops adapted to engage when the lowendoor-section expands.

6. The combination of a pair of Vertical guides, stops carried thereby, and a metallic door-section movable in said guides and equipped with stops adapted to be thrown into engagement with said first-named stops when the door-section expands, whereby said stops will serve to secure the door-section against falling when an abnormally high temperature occurs. p

7. In a dooil of the character set forth, the combination of a pair of guides equipped with stops, upper' and lower door sections movable in said guides, stops carried by the upper portions of the lateral edges of the lower door-section and normally out of engagement with said lirst-named stops, but so disposed with relation thereto that the second-named stops will be forced into engagement with the first-named stops in case of undue eX- pansion of the door, and latch members adapted to support the lower door-section in the normal condition of the door.

WAINWRIGHT B. GERVAIS. MILLARD GILMORE.

In presence of- L. HEISLAR, J. LANDESMAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commisaoner of Patents; Washington, D. C. 

